Deluge of Corporate Bond Issues Continues for Second Day

Sale of $18 Billion of Debt Is Second Largest of Year, Following Tuesday

By

Mike Cherney

Updated March 5, 2014 8:12 p.m. ET

About a dozen high-grade companies are selling roughly $18 billion in debt on Wednesday, extending a spree of bond sales that began with Tuesday with the busiest day of the year for new debt sales in the U.S.

Leading Wednesday's slate are McKesson Corp. with a $4.1 billion deal, Commonwealth Bank of Australia with a $3.5 billion deal and HSBC Holdings PLC with another $3.5 billion sale. AT&T Inc. was selling a $2.5 billion deal...